Game in a nutshell: Dan Haren (1-1) earned his first win of the season despite a long day in his first appearance before the Nationals' home crowd. He gave up ten hits through five innings, threw 101 pitches, but kept the White Sox to three runs. He even hit a double and scored a lead-taking run in the fourth inning. White Sox pitcher Dylan Axelrod also threw a lot of pitches with 40 in the first inning alone. He ended up with 103 and also got a hit and scored a run.

Hitting highlight: Ryan Zimmerman had a pretty good day reaching base in each of his first three at-bats. He walked twice to begin the game, then hit a two RBI double in the fourth. The White Sox intentionally walked Bryce Harper (the first of his young career) to put two men on with two outs. Zimmerman then lofted a long fly ball over Alex Rios' head in right field to clear the bases and put the Nats up 6-3.

If not for the lucky pop up bunt by Axelrod that ALR just missed, Haren's stats would look a lot different. A bit of a misleading line for him. Good effort and a little monkey off his back. Another terrific game by Span, Harper, Werth and Zimmerman.

Actually, I think the comparison to Cox is pretty good.Haren's previous season before giving up 9+ hits in his first two starts:12-13, 4.22Cox's previous season before giving up 9+ hits in his first two starts:12-7, 2.88Yeah yeah, I know, that was Cox's only good season, but still, he came into 1970 looking pretty good.Farid @ Idaho

Hello Insiders: hope the game thread was fun!Bet there were multiple calls for Haren's head but guess what? he gets a big win, pitches with grit and even though he gave up a bunch of hits I don't believe he walked anyone. Davey really outmanaged Ventura in my opinion, and our guys really do wear pitchers down. I love that he has Stamman, Duke, Henry and Drew fresh for tomorrow and I am guessing he might even sneak another inning for Clip since he threw minimal pitches. Wouldn't it be great to see Det go at least 7 tomorrow night. Wouldn't it be even better if it was a huge blowout and all of us relax for a game.7-2 and I am sure that Rabbit is happy that our bats are on fire. Also, where is JayB? and Mick, how do you like Soriano after this series?Go Nats!!

Gonat – I think you are correct on our bullpen. I was thinking he would close with Clip tonight but that still keeps our pen at 5. I think Duke was warming when Haren was struggling but letting Mattheus go two innings tells you alot about both Duke and Henry. Bullpen did the job tonight but its still not as solid as I hoped it would be.

Gonat – surely you had some help during the game? Even though I refuse to go there, I thought that Seamhead and 222 posted during games as well. Anyway, I am glad you got to help Haren through those 5 innings and you should take a small part of the credit for the win!Go Nats!

Joe Seamhead said… Gonat, I think it was me that mentioned that Clip might close. I wonder how many days in a row Davey will use Raffy Soriano? April 11, 2013 10:47 PM _______________________________You were spot on. Very surprising to see Davey not use Duke or HRod for an inning to get Clip to close which tells you what he thinks of them.

I have one more thought. I am honestly not trying to poke anyone here. Denard Span has only played 9 games here but to watch him play CF and hit leadoff in these 9 games makes me understand just what Rizzo was doing. He makes tough catches seem easy. I am not saying Harper could not have made most of those catches but he honestly glides to the ball. Maybe his arm is not a plus but if our corner outfielders can position themselves to cut off hits into the corners because of Span, we will benefit even more from him. His job as a leadoff hitter sets up the rest of this lineup. I realize he will not hit 10 homeruns this season but we have enough power 2-8 to make that a non-issue. We have Span under control for the next few years and its not an outrageous contract. I honestly do not see any negatives concerning this move at this early point in the season and I sure don't see him riding the bench as was suggested early in spring training and actually right up to the start of the year.

Joe, to be honest, I wanted Lannan as the #5 and was surprised the Nats went Haren but since he's here, I think we have to support him. Haren wasn't helped by the ump but he also didn't help himself as you could see he was overthrowing his 4 seam. Why go for 91 when 88 with movement down in the zone is better. Is it a pride thing? One thing about McCatty is he wants smart pitchers that pitch smart.

Gonat – I am not going to apologize for not following the game thread. I love watching and listening to the game and would just get upset with what I can only imagine is posted during a game. It is funny but I am almost laughing at times thinking about what is going on. I could easily go back right now but honestly, about a week ago I stopped reading the garbage being spewed and it has helped my baseball enjoyment. I love this site and the back and forth. Baseball is a great game to argue about and we do it well here. I am just going to have to thank you and the others for keeping that glass half full during games.

mick said… Gonat is our Marshall Matt Dillon, LOL April 11, 2013 10:57 PM _____________________________________LOL, I just google'd him! He looks just like my great-Aunt and she has more hair on her face I believe. She just needs one of those cowboy hats!

Gonat – I know you didn't but I feel just a little bit guilty.I think my son and I will go early on Saturday. I think the bobbleheads will go early. There is also a huge party at JUSTIN's pretty much all day. I think it starts at 9am and goes until night. Food trucks, beer trucks, live music to celebrate the Nationals moving into first place!!

Joe Seamhead said… Thanks, Gonat, great job! The LOD wore me out over there last week when it seemed I was the only one over there. ____________________________I have been at every game so far until tonight so I hadn't been posting during games.I had tickets for tonight that I trashed.

Yeah yeah, I know, that was Cox's only good season, but still, he came into 1970 looking pretty good.So did everyone up and down the lineup and rotation! A lot of regression after that year then the ignominious trade for Denny McDick and the return of Curt Flood who probably regressed the most … Curt Flood was probably better than Denard Span in his prime with the Cards but …

Haren. W. No BBs. 2B. OK?And if there's one thing about Haren he doesn't walk hitters. And since his recent decline more inclined to pitch batting practice …HOWEVER the other 4 younger guys are extremely good. And the queue is quite long of potential replacements for Haren.But not for the other four.

As I head for bed (not a nap Peric), I read two interesting articles over on espn. I am not able to post links or things like that but they were both about the dh. On one, they predicted that Atl.would be at a huge disadvantage when they play in the AL parks. Apparently, they do not have a bench that includes a dh type hitter. The writer talks about St. Louis and Washington being the two lineups that will adapt with little difficulty and named Tyler Moore as a big reason. The second article by Jason Stark (I like his stuff) talked about the dh being accepted by all of MLB in the future. Not next year or anything but he makes one really good point. The Reds just signed Votto for I think 12 years. There will be a time where he just won't be able to play the field. The red's owner will be looking for the ability to gain an advantage and one would be to adopt the dh. The other example was Seattle having to deal with King Felix breaking a bone while attempting a bunt. Two fairly small markets that are negatively affected by using two separate rules. I love the NL game and hope it doesn't switch but I think common sense says that sooner or later everyone will be playing with the same rules.

You were spot on. Very surprising to see Davey not use Duke or HRod for an inning to get Clip to close which tells you what he thinks of them.Its still early people. He appears to be doing his Davey thing alternating his bullpen except for the closer. You'll see Duke, HRod, and Stammen again as well as Storen, Mattheus, and Clippard. He'll winnow out one of them hoping that one of the five or so lefty relievers in Syracuse become consistently lights out.

I love the NL game and hope it doesn't switch but I think common sense says that sooner or later everyone will be playing with the same rules.And its why Pujols was traded to the AL. Unless the reincarnation of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe Dimaggio, Ted Williams et al all suddenly appear I don't see the NL changing. I can see teams swapping leagues … perhaps …Look at this way. Chipper Jones looked like he could keep hitting until he was 40. All he needed, like fellow elite platoon bat Lance Berkman, was an AL team to take him on. Honestly I think the who PED/steroid fiasco put the kibosh on any notion of an all baseball DH to accommodate older stars. The "older stars" were all besmirched. And the new ones like Harper (and yes Werth) are far too athletic to ever want Matt Stares job where they never, ever play the field. Its one thing to be on the bench. Its quite another to never put a glove on.

Sure it's early but Davey has 5 "A" guys and 2 "B" guys.And he's got real lefties in Syracuse making the Chiefs look like better competition than the Astros.It won't last long if he feels they will never be effective for him.

BTW (cough cough) for those who follow the Harrisburg Senators and their 3rd bagger Anthony Rendon and their starting 2nd bagger prospect Ricky Hague … Trevor Holder pitched 2 shut out innings in relief of Demny and still has a 0.00 ERA,